Dear editor,
With regard to an editorial titled "Thanks, World Cup," I saw how the World Cup brought changes to the Koreans that might seem meaningful. However, I could not neglect the traits of the people that this sports event revealed.
It seems everything is running to extremes these days. The changes can easily be seen. This year, summer seemed to have come even earlier than before. Spring and fall are becoming so much shorter each year that it is hardly even possible to feel them, as it seems as if only winter and summer are present.
Politics nowadays doesn't seem to be different. The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties is so heated without reason that there seems to be no place for adjustment and cooperation. What's more problematic is that the trend to extremes is beginning to be seen in people and society in various ways.
Koreans' reaction to the World Cup was something that showed the change most recently. The World Cup was an event that every Korean has been following. Everyone was proud of our players and expected good results in return. However when Korea played poorly, without winning a single game, all the supporters turned their backs on the team. No one gave the players the slightest encouragement. The players were only met with disgust and criticism on their return.
I came to think that the extremes can be represented by the computer. The computer can only function with two numbers, 0 and 1. Every memory within the computer is denoted with a 0 and 1, with no exception. Just as the computer is only capable of systemizing with 0 or 1, when you suppose that emotions can only be expressed in the same way, people are only expressing themselves using 0 or 1. This somehow reflects the tendencies of people in present society. They seem to be losing feeling for one another more and more, not embracing and understanding, but rather becoming "computerized."
However, human beings are such complicated living beings that they cannot possibly be summarized so simply. But still, people don't seem to understand this and try to go to extremes. Now is the time for a courageous man should stand up to express himself with, for instance, 0.7, and try to lead others to reveal themselves "between" 0 to 1. Then a person with 0.4 would encourage the football players for doing their best in spite of the consequences, and a politician with 0.6 would learn to congratulate his opponent after losing in an election.
With regard to an editorial titled "Thanks, World Cup," I saw how the World Cup brought changes to the Koreans that might seem meaningful. However, I could not neglect the traits of the people that this sports event revealed.
It seems everything is running to extremes these days. The changes can easily be seen. This year, summer seemed to have come even earlier than before. Spring and fall are becoming so much shorter each year that it is hardly even possible to feel them, as it seems as if only winter and summer are present.
Politics nowadays doesn't seem to be different. The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties is so heated without reason that there seems to be no place for adjustment and cooperation. What's more problematic is that the trend to extremes is beginning to be seen in people and society in various ways.
Koreans' reaction to the World Cup was something that showed the change most recently. The World Cup was an event that every Korean has been following. Everyone was proud of our players and expected good results in return. However when Korea played poorly, without winning a single game, all the supporters turned their backs on the team. No one gave the players the slightest encouragement. The players were only met with disgust and criticism on their return.
I came to think that the extremes can be represented by the computer. The computer can only function with two numbers, 0 and 1. Every memory within the computer is denoted with a 0 and 1, with no exception. Just as the computer is only capable of systemizing with 0 or 1, when you suppose that emotions can only be expressed in the same way, people are only expressing themselves using 0 or 1. This somehow reflects the tendencies of people in present society. They seem to be losing feeling for one another more and more, not embracing and understanding, but rather becoming "computerized."
However, human beings are such complicated living beings that they cannot possibly be summarized so simply. But still, people don't seem to understand this and try to go to extremes. Now is the time for a courageous man should stand up to express himself with, for instance, 0.7, and try to lead others to reveal themselves "between" 0 to 1. Then a person with 0.4 would encourage the football players for doing their best in spite of the consequences, and a politician with 0.6 would learn to congratulate his opponent after losing in an election.
Kim Kyoung-jin
Student at Hanyang University High School
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